Three young Port Perry women who are Ontario's first confirmed cases of swine flu returned from Cancun on Friday with symptoms but spent the weekend at the local casino and visiting friends because their local hospital never advised them to stay home.

And even after 21-year-old Justine Stevenson was informed on Tuesday afternoon that she has the virus, no one has told her mom to close her home daycare business.

29 April 2009

-- QUEBEC CITY -- Jean Charest's government was groping to explain a potential conflict of interest scandal Wednesday in which public funds were allegedly steered to companies owned by provincial Liberals.

Documents released by the official opposition showed that a regional economic development fund set up to boost the economy of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region was being used to finance companies owned by Liberals located mainly in the Montreal region.

Government officials confirmed the first U.S. death from the new H1N1 swine flu today - a 23-month-old child who died in Texas. It is the first death from swine flu reported outside Mexico, the country hardest hit by the influenza outbreak.

Well, not quite...

-- HOUSTON -- A Mexico City toddler who travelled to Texas with family to visit relatives is the first confirmed death in the U.S. from swine flu.

“What happened with this dress is just the living proof that sexism is still out there and very healthy and it’s only politically correct to just say that we have equality among the sexes — but we don’t.”

Anybody else see the graphic on CTV last night as they breathlessly reported on the... count 'em... 13 cases of "swine flu" that apparently have the capability to bring this country to a screeching halt.

For those of you that missed it... all of North America was painted blood red. The CTV website has a similar scary picture...And you can always count on CBC to do their part...But do we have any actual information that doesn't simply involve scary pictures? Well... a little further down the article...

28 April 2009

...how exactly is this about Canadian citizenship... and not Dalton McSlippery's flagrant mismanagement of the Ontario healthcare system...

"It's gone beyond frustration into absolute rage. I've been treated better by the people of Mexico than I have been by my own country," Pazzano told the Star from the intensive care unit of Hospiten Cancun in Mexico. "I am, in all honesty, disgusted to be called a Canadian citizen right now."

Of course... the Toronto Red Star is more than happy to publish any derogatory reference towards the federal Conservative government, even though this one actually falls squarely on the McGuinty Liberals...

The couple was initially told that hospitals here are full, says Pazzano, but that claim was negated by Ontario Health MinisterDavid Caplan.

"There is ICU capacity," he told reporters, noting that the health system here should "be able to provide the care that Ontarians expect."

Well, David... perhaps this woman could have found an ICU bed in Toronto if it weren't for Dalton McGuinty's billion dollars in P2P hospital construction cost over-runs.

"...to be suggesting she left before she could be given the results, in the next she said she had finished the test and said again that, 'I'm sure if I didn't pass my test, I wouldn't be standing right here with all of you now, guaranteed'."

"...that he thought that rapists should not be locked up because they have had a difficult childhood, have psychological problems and aberrant personalities, including a tendency to take drugs and too much alcohol, and because prison does not work as evidenced by the fact that they often commit the same sorts of crimes on release, he would be (rightly) regarded as a moral idiot."

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RELATED: And justice for all...

The legal team for the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing has told judges that the evidence against him was "wholly circumstantial".

The second lesson is that leading can be lonely. When Canada first pulled out of Durban II, we were alone. When Canada first cut off aid to Hamas, we were alone. But others later followed, because we were right.

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LAST WORD: So, let's get started...

In 2008 almost 37,000 asylum seekers entered Canada and so far this year the flow remains unabated. There is a backlog of more than 62,000 asylum claims before the Refugee Board which will take years to clear.

The system is out of control and yet our politicians of all parties refuse to even consider reform. To do so would offend the powerful refugee lobby and threaten the loss of ethnic voters.

Furthermore, it is not politically correct to even discuss immigration and refugee policies in connection with border or security concerns.

27 April 2009

The White House defended the administration's ability to respond to a crisis that is coming so early in its tenure and while it still lacks a health and human services secretary, a surgeon general and a CDC director.

A Quebec sovereigntist association is demanding an apology for a tract published in 1849 by the Montreal Gazette that the group contends incited 1,500 anglophone Montrealers to burn down the city's parliament.

RELATED: Those heartless Conservative bastards... wait...Hang on a second... turns out she's NOT being "denied re-entry" to Canada after all...

...apparently, this is about hospital beds...

"None of the hospitals in the metropolitan area or the areas outside Toronto will accept her in the ICUs -- they are saying there are no ICU beds available," George said.

Just more despicable CTV spin.

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LAST WORD: Hey... the Red Star wants in...

Yeah, of course, let's just blame it on the evil logo...

What most people likely see when they inspect the famous green-and-white Starbucks emblem is the likeness of a long-maned mermaid wearing a crown, surrounded by several concentric circles that contain the company's brand name.

For the City of Toronto, firing muzzle-loading reproduction black powder guns on city property is okay, but Olympic target shooters are a threat to public safety.

The hypocrisy isn't lost on some gun lobby groups, who agree musket demonstrations are completely appropriate to commemorate the Battle of York, but wonder how the city can reconcile the double standard.

Last year, city council passed a series of bylaws that prohibit the sale, display and promotion of firearms on city property, and Fort York is owned by the City of Toronto.

"Nobody is suggesting ... that demonstrations like this at Fort York shouldn't happen. They are part of our heritage, we recognize that, we celebrate that," said Greg Farrant, manager of government relations for the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, which has more than 100,000 members across the province.

"But so too is hunting part of our heritage."

Why there's a celebration of one aspect of our firearms heritage but a demonization of another part by the City of Toronto is mystifying."

-- ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- As the Taliban tightened their hold over newly won territory, Pakistani politicians and American officials on Thursday sharply questioned the government’s willingness to deal with the insurgents and the Pakistani military’s decision to remain on the sidelines.

“The government is too worried about its own political survival to take on the militants,” the Defense Department official said.

Here's a question... where do you figure the billion dollars in annual U.S. military aid got to?

A second arrest has been made in the afternoon drive-by shooting of a young man near his Rexdale home, police announced today.

Jose Hierro-Saez, 19, was a passenger in a car that was riddled with bullets from another vehicle as it travelled along John Garland Blvd., near Albion Rd. and Kipling Ave., in June 2007.

Anthony Grant, 21, and Devon Vivian, 20, thought to have fled to Jamaica, were identified as suspects.

Grant, suspected of driving the car used in the shooting, was picked up by the Royal Jamaican Constabulary Fugitive Squad nearly three months after the fact. He was charged with first-degree murder and brought back to Toronto.

Last Friday, Vivian was arrested in Kingston, Jamaica on a charge of first-degree murder and four counts of attempt murder while armed with a firearm, Toronto Police announced today.

"If you are in fear for your life... Press 1... If you wish to report a property crime... Press 2... If you are calling to set up an appointment to be arrested..."

-- EDMONTON -- RCMP spokesman Cpl. Wayne Oakes said the Crown prosecutors' office is not going to pursue Dewald's out-of-province apprehension provided Dewald makes good on his word by turning himself in at the end of the summer.

A residential laneway splashed with gang insignia was the scene for Toronto's latest homicide.

Blue spray paint stained the walls that line the scene near Keele St. and Rogers Rd., showing passersby that Crips, or perhaps wannabe Crip gang members, were there long before 19-year-old Daniel Lewis was gunned down Tuesday evening.

The identity of the person shot Wednesday has not yet been released.

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UPDATE2:

The latest victim, Omar Waite, 29, of Toronto, was gunned down at a bus stop at Jane St. and Eglinton Ave. W, around 6:40 p.m. yesterday.

Take for example Toronto Police's own website, which indicates in its own information gathering as of April 9 Toronto's shooting occurrences are up 31.3% in 2009 over this time last year, with 63 this year compared to 48 in 2008.

22 April 2009

Like Hamas in Gaza, cowardly LTTE fighters are hiding behind the women and children they claim to be protecting. (In fact, the Tigers are actually killing civilians who try to flee the combat area — something even Hamas never did on a large scale during the Gaza combat.)

The Tigers’ goal appears to be saving itself — and we would not be surprised if Pirapaharan staged his own massacre of Tamils as a means to discredit Colombo and force a ceasefire that allowed him to escape.

"According to research by sociologist Jeffrey Reitz and others, this trend is increasingly pronounced among the second generation of immigrant visible-minority groups.""Compared with their parents, they feel less, not more, 'Canadian'."

A teen was shot and killed in a west-end Toronto laneway earlier this evening.

"Don't disrespect me," witnesses heard the 19-year-old shout before a series of shots were fired at about 6:30 p.m. Police said the two fleeing suspects should be considered armed and dangerous.

One was described as a black male, about six feet tall, 16 to 18 years old and skinny with hair in corn rows, while the second was described as a black male, about six feet tall, 18 to 20 years of age and of medium build with a short afro haircut.

Take for example Toronto Police's own website, which indicates in its own information gathering as of April 9 Toronto's shooting occurrences are up 31.3% in 2009 over this time last year, with 63 this year compared to 48 in 2008.

In actual victims, there have been 77 this year compared to 68 last year. And a lot has happened since April 9.

Taliban fighters in the region have not put down their weapons. Armed militants have spread into nearby areas and the mediator of the agreement is now denouncing lawmakers and judicial officials as infidels.

This is gonna be interesting.

I keep trying to imagine Defense Minister Bin-Laden giving the new Islamic state's keynote address... at the United Nations.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) footage of the Sri Lanka Air Force showing a small group of armed LTTE cadres firing indiscriminately at a group of civilians attempting to cross over to the cleared areas in North of Puthumathalan where the Army 55 division is stationed.

In the footage the vague shapes of civilians shot by the LTTE are visible upon closer inspection.

20 April 2009

Despite leader Michael Ignatieff's vow that his party would no longer sit on its hands during votes in Parliament, Liberal MPs have missed three times as many votes in the House of Commons so far this year as Conservative members.

Three cheers for the Puffin King... just look at how he's turning the Liberal Party around...

The Liberals posted the worst record for voting in the House, standing to be counted fewer times on average than even Bloc Quebecois MPs.

And when Liberal MPs did show up, they voted the same way as the Conservatives 79% of the time. By contrast, Bloc MPs supported the government on only 14% of votes.

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RELATED: Ask a lefty journalist...

“Take any story on what's happening to women in Afghanistan and switch the word ‘women’ to ‘men,’” she proposes. “See how bizarre it is?”

Whoah, that is trippy! And can you imagine if antebellum Americans had enslaved, say, chickens, instead of black people? Makes you think, don’t it?

Asked again about the Ortega speech, Clinton said: “To have those first class Caribbean entertainers on all on one stage and to see how much was done in such a small amount of space, I was overwhelmed.”

Misdirection and outright lies... it's how the fuzzy-bunny socialists roll.

The father of a baby girl dumped in a frigid North York stairwell last year will serve no additional jail time and mom has to pay a $300 fine, a court has ruled.

The parents of Baby Angelica-Leslie pleaded guilty in a Toronto courtroom Thursday to abandoning the year-old tot in a parking garage in Janauary 2008.

Neither parent can be named to protect the identity of the little girl found lying facedown in the stairway in -14C temperatures. She was also had cuts and bruises on her face at the time she was found.

The book, Theo Gray's Mad Science: Experiments You Can Do at Home but Probably Shouldn't, is packed with things that can actually maim you, as well as projects you'd let elementary-school kids do unsupervised, with crystal-clear warnings for each along the way.

-- Toronto -- A Toronto man is facing numerous charges after allegedly trying to send nuclear technology to Iran, a country under intense international pressure to curtail its nuclear ambitions, police said Friday.

Mahmoud Yadegari, who police said is a Toronto businessman in his mid-30s, is charged under the Customs Act and Export Import Permits Act, and is also accused of violating UN sanctions on Iran.

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RELATED: In other "bright lights, big city" news...

Toronto Police have made a quick arrest after a a man was found slain in the basement of a Leslieville home.

“No one is allowed to have a gun on their premises for protection in the city. We have laws that govern the ownership and handling of guns. Anyone in possession of a gun has to have it safely stored in a designated place,” said Insp. Eric Grummisch.